Seven Florida clergy members have filed lawsuits against the state’s abortion ban following the Supreme Court’s ruling that struck down Roe v Wade.
The group, which includes two Christians, three Jews, one Unitarian Universalist and a Buddhist, argues that the ban, signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis in April, violates their freedom to practice their religious faith, The Washington Post exclusively reported.
The ban impedes those seeking abortion from moving forward with the procedure if they’re past 15 weeks pregnancy, regardless of whether the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. Providers can also be prosecuted if they aid in situations where abortion is deemed illegal.
The law went into effect on 1 July and only grants an exception when the life of the mother is at risk or the fetus has a lethal condition. Reverend Laurie Hafner, who ministers at the United Church of Christ, told the Washington Post that she is pro-life precisely because of her faith.
“I think the religious right has had the resources and the voices politically and socially to be so loud, and frankly, they don’t represent the Christian faith,” Ms Hafner told the Post. “Those of us on the other side, with maybe a more inclusive voice, need to be strong and more faithful and say: ‘There is another very important voice.’”
Ms Hafner argued that a clear stance about abortion is not stipulated in the bible.
“[Jesus] says: ‘I come that you might have full life.’ Does that mean for a 10-year-old to bear the child of her molester? That you cut your life short because you aren’t able to rid your body of a fetus?” Hafner also told the newspaper.
The lawsuits obtained by the Post are not a class action and were filed in five separate instances across the Sunshine State. They argue that Mr DeSantis’ abortion ban also “violates the separation of church and state under the federal and state constitutions.”
“HB 5, entitled the Infant and Fetal Abnormality Act, establishes as the law of the State of Florida, a pernicious elevation of the legal rights of fetuses while at the same time it de- values the quality of life and the health of the woman or girl who is pregnant,” the filing, made available by the Post, reads.
In a similar instance last month, a rabbi also sued Florida over the ban. Rabbi Barry Silver of Congregation L’Dor Va-Dor in Palm Beach County told NBC in June that “It’s the height of chutzpah for people to tell the Jewish people what the Bible means and lecture the Jewish people on the sanctity of life.”
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice sued Idaho on Tuesday over the state’s new abortion law, arguing that it violates federal law because it prevents doctors from providing medically necessary treatment.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said that Idaho’s ban would force medical providers to violate the federal Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which observes abortion as a stabilizing treatment in circumstances when women experience medical emergencies.
The Supreme Court overruled the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade decision on 24 June, prompting an array of polarised reactions from citizens, and political and religious leaders who have either decried the overturning as a setback in the fight for fundamental rights or hailed it as a victory for conservatives.
